LA TRINIDAD, Benguet - Jathropa, a potential source of bio-diesel, entails an extensive research prior to its thorough development for massive reproduction as an alternative source of fuel.
Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) William Dar ,who was the Guest of Honor and Speaker during the graduation rites last semester last year at the Benguet State University, said jathropa needs genetic enhancement which takes several years in developing a variety for bio-diesel production. He said jathropa or locally known as tagumbao are wild species found in backyards which need to be domesticated.
According to ICRISAT, research has just started on jathropa in terms of domestication, developing improved cultivars, identifying suitable agronomic practices, and mass multiplication techniques.
Dar said according to reports, India is the best country working on jathropa. It took them 15 years of thorough research and came up with only one variety producing 1.3 tons per hectare.
Dar said ICRISAT’s research revealed some findings. Jathropa which is claimed to be drought resistant was found out that its leaves fall during dry season. Also claimed to have no pests and diseases, the institution was able to identify eight of these. While the ratio of male to female is one is to 25, females convert to male flowers during high temperature.
There are still lots of physiological, agronomical and integrated pest management work yet to be done on jathropa plant according to Dar.
Research and development including capacity building must be fully supported and sustained for a long period in order to be very competitive in the long run according to ICRISAT reports. Once the right cultivars/varieties of J curcas are developed, tested and released, massive promotion and commercial block plantation can be pursued. ***S.C. Aro/PIA-Benguet
Bamboo production development introduced in Benguet as carbon sequester and for income generation projects
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Bamboo production may yet be an alternative for environmental protection and as source of livelihood should it prosper as intensive production is being encouraged in the Cordillera Region.
During the launching of the 3rd Cordillera Organic Agriculture Congress, in line with the celebration of the Benguet State University’s 22nd Charter Day, a Memorandum of Understanding was forged among the Rotary Club Makati Central, Center of Excellence for Regional Cooperation (CERC) and the Cordillera Bamboo Development (CORBAMDEV) to implement the Bamboo for Life Project, in undertaking advocacy, propagation and likewise for commercialization purposes.
Other signatories to the MOU were the provincial government, Baguio Diocese, Indigenous Peoples’ Organization.
BSU President Rogelio Colting, who is also the CORBAMDEV Chair, said the project will be piloted initially in Benguet. BSU’s role is to propagate seedlings for distribution, provide demonstration farm, conduct research and development for new bamboo varieties, conduct training, and host the Project Management Office.
A bamboo advocate, Undersecretary Edgar Manda, President of the Rotary Club of Makati Central and the Manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority said their group will procure seedlings from China which will be available by February for BSU to propagate.
Manda said BSU will identify two students who will undergo training on bamboo development in China April this year.
BSU College of Forestry Dean Dante Chiochioco said the various IP groups in the province are receptive to the bamboo development program and expressed their willingness to participate in the program in an orientation meeting held recently.
Chiochioco said a Memorandum of Agreement will be forged separately between stakeholders such as the IP groups with CORBAMDEV
According to Manda, bamboo which is a substitute for timber by scientific community is important to socio-economic development and the ecology which is seemingly being neglected and ignored. Bamboos reduce carbon sink. It is otherwise known as a “carbon sequester” as a hectare of bamboo plantation sequesters 12 tons of carbon dioxide each year.
As a watershed protection, Manda said a bamboo plant typically binds six cubic meter of soil. It yields six times more cellulose than the fast growing pine tree.
Bamboo has a wide range of uses from shoots to its rhizomes. Shoots are used as food source. China’s international trade in bamboo shoots is worth more than $ 150 million a year according to Manda.
The array of items that can be made out of the different parts of the bamboo are bags, lampshade, carvings, charcoal and charcoal production, cosmetics, industrial vinegar; furniture, flooring; curtains, mats, carpets, woven articles, handicrafts, chopsticks, bamboo pole, clothing, brooms, medicines, juice among others.
The waste materials can also be used to produce bamboo powder, dust for fuel,
charcoal, brick, fiber board, paper, lumber and clothing.
Bamboo, the so called “grass of hope,” has features that should be taken into account according to Manda such that it grows more rapidly than trees as much as 400 millimeters or 15 inches per day. With a maturity of four to five years, multiple harvests is expected every second year up to 120 years.
It can also easily be intercropped with vegetables. Establishment of bamboo plantation requires a minimal capital investment, Manda said
Based on reports, China’s bamboo industry production
was valued at $0.6B in 1990 with an annual increasing trend that reached $ 6.3 B in 2005. China’s bamboo product export amounted to $170 million in 1990 to $ 950 million in 2005.
Locally, bamboo is widely used for shelter and furniture purposes while a new innovation is the production of surfboard out of bamboo. *** S.C. Aro/PIA-Benguet
Source: karitoon.com
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